The Legacy
by Evil DM
Summary: An assassin and a Jedi Knight collide, causing ripples that could change the world as they discover new things.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Well, long time, no see! This be my newest story, though it's been in the works for quite some time. It's co-written by my best friend, Meggu, and I have her permission to post it. Tekk is also used with Shinga's permission. Of course, I don't own the Star Wars universe. A galaxy would be a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to own one._

_**A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…**_

_Members of the Republic's Senate had been dying at an alarming rate. While nothing unnatural could be found about their deaths at first examination, the toxicology screening turned back interesting results. Each senator had been assassinated by an extremely deadly poison, even more dangerous because of its unknown status. There seemed to be no pattern to the deaths, prompting the Jedi Knights to become involved, protecting the senators from the mysterious poisoner._

For a time, no more died, and the security was relaxed, though not completely. The Jedi knew that the assassin would strike again, and when that time came, they would destroy the killer...

Coruscant. The capital of the Galactic Republic and the seat of the Senate, the fulcrum of democracy in the galaxy. The entire planet was one huge city, with all natural features vanished for hundreds of years. Even from space, it looked strange, gleaming silver like metal.

_/It's ugly/_ Tekk thought, guiding his ship into the atmosphere. _/I hate visiting this place, but each visit pays well./_

He was the poisoner that had the Senators jumping at every shadow, the Jedi working overtime to protect the same. If he came face-to-face with a Jedi, the warrior might be able to identify him, using the Force-given senses. However, he wasn't likely to get caught. He'd been at this business longer than any single human had a right to be, and he was very skilled.

His sleek ship, a heavily modified Nubian, went through the docking procedure with no difficulties, allowing the tall human to leave his ship securely docked. Though he was quite eccentric-looking--close to seven feet tall, wild blue hair, exposed cybernetics, and dressed in all black--he managed to vanish into the crowds, and no one remembered seeing him.

That night, another Senator died.

_The next morning_

Two figures, draped in the robes of the Jedi order, stroll down one of the many corridors. The early morning sunlight casts all in shades of dusty rose...including the young Jedi, Rose, and her companion, Master Rineari.

Rose sighed. "Have we really fallen so far?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Rineari asked, the kind smile never leaving his face.

"We're supposed to be 'the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy', and here we are reduced to playing babysitter for a bunch of senators simply because their guards can't do their jobs." She sighed again and shook her head. "I think it's a bit frustrating..."

Rineari's smile widened a bit. "Remember your training, young one. Feel, don't think. You know as well as I what needs to be done here." he ruffled her hair a bit before continuing down the corridor. "But come. Something has been troubling you...what is it?"

Rose frowned. "Master, I'm not sure I was ready for the trials..."

"You passed, did you not?"

"Yes...but..." She stopped when he raised his eyebrow at her.

"The council would not have tested you if you were not ready...You must learn to trust them as surely as you trust your own feelings." he said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You are no longer my Padawan...but I must stress that I do not agree with your...eavesdropping on the council as you do."

"If they would not hide from me as they do, I wouldn't need to eavesdrop." Rose pointed out. "I simply wish to know of the Council's decisions...a knowledge we all have the right to...so why do they hide?"

Rineari began laughing. "Because you tend to be highly opinionated." he said with a smile.

"But I only speak that which I feel must be said." she said, smiling back, "And, as you said, I trust my feelings."

Rineari shook his head. "I have a feeling that the council doesn't always feel that your feelings are correct..." he paused and began laughing again. "I, however, know better than to doubt you." his smile was very warm. "But come, the children are waiting for you. We can discuss this later."

Rose nodded. One of her tasks was caring for the younger children. Almost like a mother, but not exactly. The two of them parted ways, Rineari continuing down the hall, Rose being tackled by a hoard of children upon opening a door.

A young officer of the guard came running around the corner at the end of the hall. "Master Jedi! Thank goodness! Come quick!" he said upon seeing Rineari.

"What is it? What has happened?" Rineari asked calmly, sensing the man's distress.

"Another senator has been killed."

Tekk left the building calmly, not even a glimmer of satisfaction on his face. The body of the senator lay inside, dead before he had even seen the assassin. There was no pride in kills like this, he thought. The senators were more concerned about their next election than watching their backs. They trusted their inept guards far too much.

The Jedi... they were a challenge. It had been actual work to evade them, sneaking in and out under their noses. Their senses were keen, and many of the elder ones had been proficient warriors in their day. Tekk was confident, though, he had been unnoticed by all. The Jedi wouldn't have even caught a glimpse of him, he was sure. Although, he knew that, with their senses, it wouldn't be long before the body was found.

Reaching into the pocket of the black coat he wore, he pulled out a metal object, about a half foot square. As he walked, his hands went through the automatic motions of unfolding it until it was nearly three feet long, and a foot and a half wide. Flicking a button, he engaged the power, letting it drop, only to hover back at knee height. He stepped up onto the hovering oval, letting the vibrations of the compact speeder speak to him. His weight shifted slightly, and the speeder shot off, soaring to join other flying traffic of Coruscant.

Hovering high above the surface of the city, Tekk watched the turmoil that only a practiced eye would be able to read. He could see officials staggering their entrances into the building to disguise the panic they felt, to avoid alerting the citizenry of any crisis. They were worried, afraid, and he was the cause of it all.

Money had been moving rapidly amongst the denizens of the underworld. There were big changes in motion, he could sense it. Money had been pouring into the Assassin's Guild, and into the pockets of those who were associated only by profession--like himself. Of course, with the increased security, only he had been able to take kills, claiming a generous portion of political money. Someone was planning something, he thought. He just didn't know what... yet. Not that he truly cared, of course. Credits were credits, after all, and one sides' were as good as the next. He just liked to know what was happening.

_I'll check my weasels,_ he thought, _and find out what's moving in the higher powers. With the deaths of the senators, I'd assume it's political, but it's too brazen to be truly politically motivated. Most likely, it's a cover for someone, something, else. They want everyone to think it's political._ He continued to ponder even as he left the scene upon the arrival of the Jedi Knights, heading to one of his 'safe houses', the only places he trusted to let his guard down... somewhat.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been some time since the death of the last senator. Every senator currently staying on Coruscant had been placed under the watchful eye of a Jedi. Rose had been lucky...the children took up most of her time.  
Rineari on the other hand...

The senator saw the shadow of a passing speeder and jumped for at least the hundredth time.  
"Calm yourself, senator. There is no one here with any ill intent toward you...of that I can assure you." This didn't seem to help much...

Tekk moved with a cat's grace, gliding through the halls. No one looked at the tall man twice. He appeared to belong, and there were strange enough regalia in the Senate District for Tekk to be noticed. He was calm, perfectly so. He passed Jedi, without one looking twice at him. Slowly, ever so slowly and carefully, he worked his way through the crowded corridors, moving aimlessly toward the less populous sectors of the building.

Finally, he saw his target. This man also had a Jedi escort, but that didn't bother him. He had dealt with Jedi before. He moved casually to pass the pair—the Jedi was following, a buffer between an attacker and the Senator—and whipped around, catching both off-guard. This brief start was enough for Tekk to seize the Senator and slip the poison-laced needle into the soft spot behind the jaw.

The man was dead before he hit the ground.

Rineari's lightsaber was in his hand before Tekk could even release the senator. His usual warm smile was gone from his face. "Out in the open, I see."

Tekk faced the Jedi master, warning him, "Retreat. I don't want to have to kill you."

Rineari activated his lightsaber, watching the assassin carefully. "You should know better than to ask me to do that," he stated calmly.

The Hunter shook his head, reaching behind him and drawing his own weapon without a flourish. The dull black metal hissed against the scabbard on his back, a sound not heard for thousands of years. Coolly, Tekk dropped into a guard position, prepared to attack, or defend.

The Jedi master had to stare for a moment at Tekk's weapon. He knew the lightsaber he held in his hands was based off of such antique weapons, but it was a shock to see one, especially in the hands of the galaxy's most sophisticated killers. Thinking it was one of the antique weapons, refurbished to meet the man's needs, Rineari counted on a quick fight. Very little metal could stand up to the energy of a lightsaber, and such alloys weren't known in the ancient days.

The pair circled, Tekk carefully stepping around the body of the dead senator without looking down at it. Both were highly trained warriors, skilled in their own arts. Both knew the fight wouldn't end until one fell, never to rise again.

The pair finally clashed, Rineari making the first attack, testing the Hunter's speed. He fully expected the man to dodge, as his weapon wasn't capable of blocking.

The humming lightsaber emitted a snarl as it met the sword in Tekk's hands, the powerful man twisting the weapon to send Rineari staggering back a pace. The Jedi stared in shock; the weapon hadn't been sheared through!

Tekk almost smirked at the look on the Master's face, but he didn't. Instead, he whipped his black-bladed sword in an attack, faster than any Jedi Rineari had ever seen. He barely blocked, arms stinging from the force.

His eyes were flat green gems, moving fluidly in attack. He was faster, stronger, and more agile than anyone the Jedi master had ever sparred with, and he was quickly realizing he was out of his depth.

As he saw the sword whipping for his throat, he realized the fatal error of all the Jedi. However, as he died, he took the secret with him.

Tekk saluted the body briefly before he left, vanishing silently.

Rose ran down the hall with all her speed. There was trouble, and Master Rineari was involved. _Hold on!_ She thought, _Just around the next corner!_ Then she felt it, like a slap in the face. Too late...she was too late to help him...but maybe she could catch his killer. She whipped around the corner into a hall that was empty except for the two bodies lying, lifeless on the floor. She knew, even before she checked the senator's vitals, that he was dead, and as for Master Rineari, there could be no doubt. Carefully, she bent down and picked up Rineari's body.

Others were beginning to show up now...Jedi and non-Jedi alike...Some of them tried to help her but she pushed them gently away with the Force. This was a burden she would bare alone, in honor of his memory.

Rose stood next to the door in the council chamber, watching the surveillance holo. She had been unusually quiet. Now, she stepped forward. "I wish to have this task."

"You wouldn't stand a chance." one of the Masters spoke up. "Your skill with the lightsaber is...well...lacking."

Rose had known this would come up. It was a valid point, one she normally could not argue against. She should have backed down...But she couldn't. Something was pulling at her...She could feel the Force drawing her down a path that would lead her to this man.

"I must go..." she insisted calmly."I don't know why...but I must, and I will. Without the permission of the council, if that's what it comes to."

Master Yoda leaned forward. "Feel something do you? Hm? The pull of the Force, do you think?" Rose nodded. There was a long moment of silence, and she began to think that she would actually have to go against the council's decision. Finally, Master Yoda nodded. "Very well then."

"Thank you." Rose said, bowing.

Rose began her search immediately. At first, it was relatively random...a question here, and inquiry there. No one had ever seen the tall blue-haired man she described to them. She began checking other surveillance holos...nothing...  
She decided to take a trip through the city to try and clear her head and ended up at a spaceport some distance from the senate building or the temple. The Force tugged at her.  
It wasn't hard to convince the owner to let her see the surveillance holos...She was a Jedi after all...  
She went back a few weeks..._no...no...no...Wait a second..._ she stopped, backed up the holo a bit. Coming out of what appeared to have once been a Nubian, but was now so heavily modified that you could hardly tell, was the blue-haired man she was searching for. _Docking bay 9..._ She nodded, thanked the owner, and then made a bee line for the docking bay. The ship was still there. She looked around...this was hardly the place for a confrontation, and her fighting skills were far below his. No, she would have to out wit him...  
She planted a small tracking beacon on the ship's hull before she left.

Patiently, she watched and waited. Her ship on constant standby. She took off not far behind him, flying "casually". He made his jump and she smiled. Copying his trajectory, she to made the jump. The chase was on...

An hour later, the smile was gone from her face. "He must have found the tracker." she mumbled with frustration. She hadn't gotten a single signal. She was back to grabbing at straws and following crumb trails.

Tekk had left the Dragon safely docked, knowing its slightly illegal security measures would keep it safe. He knew the Jedi would be after his blood for killing the Master, but he felt no remorse. The man was a warrior, and thus, knew the risks of facing someone in combat.

As he approached his ship, several days later, he sensed something amiss. Not something wrong, per se, but something wasn't right. He scanned the gleaming hull of his ship, looking for any trace of tampering, and at first, finding none. No matter. He boarded the ship, started the launch cycle, and took off, leaving the too-bright gleam of the planet behind.

Once in the vacuum of space, isolated from the worst of the interference, his ship warned him of a strange frequency coming from the hull. Analyzing it, he realized with amusement, it was a homing beacon. /_Well_/ he thought//_two can play this game..._/

With the heavy traffic surrounding the capitol planet, he couldn't pick out his pursuer, even though he knew one was there. Smirking to himself, he calculated the jump to lightspeed, letting the ship vanish.

Once in hyperspace, he jammed the beacon's transmissions, planning to remove it at the next opportunity. He used the transit time to collect himself, and to plan for a long pursuit. 

Reverting to real space was easy enough. He knew his pursuer was somewhere close behind, and thus, didn't take any risks. Rather than immediately jumping to lightspeed again, he activated one of the Dragon's many surprises.

When the second ship appeared in real space, it appeared to be empty, but in truth, the 'prey' was less than a cannon-shot away. He wanted to see the one who hunted the Hunter, and had activated the ship's cloaking device.

It was a Jedi, as he had suspected. This one was young, he noted, and female. The kind most likely to be struck by idealistic crusades--such as capturing the galaxy's most dangerous killer and bringing him to justice. He watched calmly from nearby as she frustrated flew through space, hunting for a prey she'd been on top of.

Tekk almost had to laugh. It was cruel, yes, but oh, it was funny. _Now_ the game was his! _He_ was in control! And oh, what a merry game this would be...

He led her along a merry chase, he always three steps ahead of her, knowing the endless, fruitless chase was demoralizing. He half hoped she'd get frustrated and leave off the pursuit, but after the third month of the game, he realized she was dedicated in a way that he could admire. Even still, he left nothing for her to find but whispers and shadows of a dark man.

A/N: Yeah, another short chapter. This fight scene was rewritten after the site where it's originally posted (in forum format) was hacked, causing us to lose all our data. That's also why there's so many PoV changes in this section—we were trying to get back to the point we had been. I'm really not happy with this chapter, and I plan to edit the hell out of it in short order. And a special thank-you to Becky, who was (most likely) the first reader, and (definitely) the first reviewer. Thanks!


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